title: Ordering in stretch-tunable polymeric opal fibers.
abstract: We demonstrate the production of high-quality polymer opal fibers in an industrially-scalable process. These fibers exhibit structural color, based on the self-assembly of sub-micron core-shell particles, with a spectrum which is stretch-tunable across the visible region. The internal substructure and ordering of fibers, as inferred from variations in spectral bandwidth, is studied using dark-field microscopy. We employ a granular model to examine flow and shear forces during the extrusion process, and the effects on particle ordering. In both theory and experiment, a concentric zone of the fiber near the exposed surface develops particularly strong structural color. Such elastically-tuned structurally colored fibers are of interest for many applications.
authors.affiliation: NanoPhotonics Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
authors.forename: Chris E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Finlayson
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goddard
authors.forename: Elpida
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Papachristodoulou
authors.forename: David R E
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Snoswell
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kontogeorgos
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spahn
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Hellmann
authors.forename: Ortwin
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Baumberg